Customer reviews and testimonials are invaluable marketing tools, especially when starting your business. Testimonials instill confidence in prospective buyers and lend credibility to your offering. Even if you’re just starting out, here’s how you can build an impressive list of testimonials to promote your business.
No customers yet? That’s OK. Try going back to previous business associates and ask them for a personal testimonial. If their experience with you was a good one, they’ll more than likely want to assist you in your new pursuit.
Another good method for newbies—is the ethical bribe. Offer your product or service for free, then solicit their feedback.
Once your business is rolling, it’s important to make testimonial gathering a continuous part of your customer service process. When you receive emails with positive feedback, immediately request to use it as a testimonial and ask them to leave a review. Make it easy on them and put the direct links to Google Reviews and/or Facebook Reviews. If you receive good remarks over the phone, write them up and send them to the customer, asking their permission to use their words.
Here are a few rules to keep in mind:
Always get the permission of the person whom you are quoting to prevent any legal troubles.
One gray area in testimonials and reviews is rather than asking for a testimonial from the customer, write one for them and ask them to approve it. You’ll get more testimonials if you do the work. Your customer can always make changes to the text you provide.
If you’re selling a B2B product or service, providing the company name and title of the person giving the testimonial will give it a greater impact.